"And I went in there," O'Neill said. "I actually almost jumped offsides on the first play. I was so excited I didn't know what to do."

O'Neill, the shortest Notre Dame player, stands 5 feet 5 inches, two inches shorter than Joey Getherall. He took consecutive handoffs from Arnaz Battle, two rushes for four yards, and heard loud applause when he left the field.

"It felt real good to be in," O'Neill said. "But at the same time, I wish I had it to do over again. Because I think I should have broken it. I should have taken it."

Trying times: The crowd was not as kind to kicker Jim Sanson before and after the missed 33-yard field-goal attempt that cost the senior his job.

"That's usual here at Notre Dame," Sanson said of the boos. "I got used to it over four years here. I'm a little disgusted with things. Not the coaches. They've done a great job."

Davie said David Miller would probably kick next week against Southern California.

Replay: A'Jani Sanders, a senior strong safety, performed a bizarre encore. His 28-yard touchdown return of one of Ryan Kealy's three interceptions gave the Irish a 14-0 lead with 10 minutes 48 seconds to go in the second quarter. A year ago, at Sun Devil Stadium, his 25-yard interception return of a Kealy pass gave Notre Dame a 14-0 lead with 12:27 to go in the second quarter.

Pass the cupcakes: Notre Dame's strength of schedule, rated second in the nation according to NCAA statistics, should drop after this week. Through games of last weekend, Notre Dame's opponents had a record of 33-13 (.717) in Division I-A games other than those against the Irish. Penn State, with its opposition winning percentage of .769, was the only major-college team with a more difficult schedule.

That designation should change after four future Irish opponents and four past ones lost their most recent games. Southern California, the opponent next Saturday, lost at Arizona. Navy lost to Air Force. Boston College lost at Temple. Pittsburgh lost to Syracuse last Thursday. Among past opponents, Michigan lost to Michigan State, and Kansas, Purdue and Oklahoma lost.